How to Use EmailOctopus to Launch a Double Opt-In Newsletter

The short answer: verify your sending domain, import only the contacts who already said yes, switch new sign-ups to double opt-in, add a welcome automation that skips the imported readers, preview and test issue one, then schedule it in your readers' time zone. Under 2,500 subscribers the whole launch runs on the free Starter plan (pricing page).

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The job here is specific: you have a newsletter list somewhere else, or in a spreadsheet, and you want it running in EmailOctopus with a clean consent trail and a first issue out. What the product includes and costs is in the EmailOctopus glossary entry.

Before you start:

1. The tier, worked out from the real count. For example, a list of 3,000 subscribers is over the free plan's 2,500, so the next Pro tier is 5,000 subscribers at $31.50 a month billed monthly, or $28 a month billed yearly, which is $28 x 12 = $336 paid up front (pricing page, checked on 24 October 2026; yearly plans are charged for 12 months at once, per the pricing article).
2. Your export, with a column that says where each person opted in. Old tools usually record a sign-up date or source. Keep it as a custom field, because you will want it if anyone asks.
3. A baseline. Write down the open, click and unsubscribe figures of your last three issues in the old tool, so the first EmailOctopus report has something to be compared with.

The launch, in seven moves

1. Verify the domain you send from

Open the Senders screen, click Verify new sender, then Verify domain. EmailOctopus generates four CNAME records and one TXT record for DMARC; on Cloudflare or Vercel, Domain Connect adds them in one click, and elsewhere you copy them into your DNS and click Complete verification (domain article). Skip this and mail from a free address goes out through an EmailOctopus domain. The same article notes that Google and Yahoo's bulk sender rules make verification a must above 5,000 emails a day to their users.

2. Import the existing readers

In your list, choose Import contacts from a file under Add contacts. The file can be CSV, XLSX, TXT or DSV, up to 50 MB; mark the contacts as subscribed, map each column to a field or tag, and leave the rest on Ignore (import article). Dates go in as YYYY-MM-DD. An import cannot resubscribe someone who unsubscribed, which is the right default. Keep everyone in one list and separate them with tags: lists are billed separately, so duplicates cost twice (pricing article).

3. Switch new sign-ups to double opt-in

Single opt-in is the default. Go to the list's Consent & customisation tab, open Double opt-in email and move the toggle; new subscribers then sit as Pending until they click the confirmation link, and EmailOctopus will not email anyone still pending (double opt-in article). The confirmation only goes to people added through forms, landing pages or the API. Imported contacts never receive it, so the import in step 2 relies on consent you already hold. The GDPR puts that burden on you: where processing is based on consent, Article 7(1) says the controller must be able to demonstrate it (GDPR on EUR-Lex).

4. Put a form where readers find you

EmailOctopus hosts landing pages, and its forms can be embedded, shown as a hello bar, a slide-in or a pop-up; WordPress has a plugin (ways to add contacts). The free plan allows one form and one landing page (free plan article), which is enough for a newsletter with a single sign-up point.

5. Add the welcome email, for new readers only

Under Automations, click Create, choose Start from scratch, name it and pick the list. The list cannot be changed once the automation runs. Select Contact added as the trigger, and when asked whether imported contacts should enter, say no, so your existing readers do not get a welcome to something they already read. Add an Email step, design it, and click Start (welcome email article). To change it later, pause it first.

6. Build issue one and test it

Under Campaigns, click Create, fill in sender, subject and preview text, and pick a template or start blank; the list needs at least one contact first (campaign article). Then use Preview & test: choose a real contact to see their merge tags filled in, and Send as a test to your own inbox (preview article).

7. Schedule it, and ramp a new domain gently

Pick a date, time and time zone and click Schedule (scheduling article). If the domain has never sent bulk mail, the warm-up article suggests starting at 50 to 100 emails a day and doubling every few days, beginning with the most engaged and most recent subscribers (warm-up article). A tag on your most active readers makes that first send easy to target.

One step an agent can take: the readout

EmailOctopus has no AI agent of its own, but its Make integration includes a Fetch campaign summary reports action (Make article). Make's AI Agent app, in open beta on all Make plans, uses modules like that one as tools (Make documentation). So a scenario can run the day after each issue: the agent pulls the summary and drafts a three-line note for the team, comparing it with your baseline. The human check: whoever owns the newsletter opens the report in EmailOctopus and confirms every number before the note goes out.

What the knowledge base warns about

• Imports with no proof of consent. Double opt-in never touches them, so a bought or scraped list stays a bought or scraped list.
• A partially verified domain. A yellow status means the DMARC record is missing, and some providers block mail without it (domain article).
• Editing a live automation. Pause first; and pick the right list before you start, because it is fixed afterwards.
• One big blast from a cold domain. The warm-up guidance exists because sudden volume trips spam filters.

The free plan is a fair trade, and it is worth knowing what the vendor gets from it: every free campaign carries a link to EmailOctopus that doubles as its referral programme (free plan article). If the newsletter is your brand, that footer is the first reason to move to Pro.

FAQ

Can I email contacts who have not confirmed yet?

No. EmailOctopus does not allow sending to Pending contacts. If someone writes to say they never got the confirmation, you can change their status to Subscribed by hand, per the double opt-in article.

Will my imported readers get the confirmation email?

No. Confirmation emails go only to people added through forms, landing pages and the API; contacts added in the dashboard, by hand or by import, skip it, and EmailOctopus says you must already have their permission.

How fast should a new domain ramp up?

Start at 50 to 100 emails a day, roughly double every few days, and send to engaged and recent subscribers first, according to the warm-up article. Watch bounces and complaints in each report and slow down if they rise.